HOUSTON – Hundreds of Houston Independent School District teachers have been laid off, but now the district is hiring hundreds more.
The president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, Gayle Fallon, said she is infuriated that the district said the laid-off teachers have first priority to the nearly 300 teacher position openings.
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"They're insulted," Fallon said. "Why should they have to compete with someone who's just walking in out of college? They have a job. They've done the job well. They have good performance appraisals, or they would have been fired for other causes."
HISD posted the list of new teacher openings on its website this week. The district said laid-off teachers teachers will be considered first and that it has held job fairs in recent weeks to connect the displaced teachers with the principals of the schools with openings.
"We have a commitment that our displaced employees who have the right certification, and who are a right fit for the new positions for next school year, that they find a place in HISD," said Ann Best, chief of HISD's human resources department.
School district officials said 724 teachers have been laid off because of budget cuts. Of those teachers, some have decided to retire or take a job with another school district and some have decided to appeal their layoff.
Fallon said about 150 teachers are appealing their layoff, and that number could go up or down. Teachers have 105 days to appeal.